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Category → Crazy Republicans Are Romney

By Frank Byronn Glenn — Romney’s adviser promised us the Governor “Etch-a-Sketch” would shake it up, reboot, and run like a sane man for the President after it was clear that he was the heir apparent to the GOP nomination. While many of us made hay of the fact the Romney, the man, was so disingenuous that he notified us that many of his “far right” re-adjustments during the course of the Republican primaries was just to get the nomination, and for the general it would be a whole new ballgame.

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In the immediate aftermath of it becoming apparent that Mr. Romney was going to secure the nomination, he appeared with Paul Ryan and praised the “austerity” approach to economic policy for the United States that is bringing down governments across Europe right now. Maybe Romney does not pay much attention to Europe — or the world, for that matter — or maybe he just discounts what Europe does as inconsequential in the great scheme of things because – well, you know, those European-socialists don’t know much about anything — and their socialists. But he also could not resist calling the plan “marvelous”. Marvelous for who, Mitt?

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Next he appeared with Donald Trump, who took advantage of the joint appearance to endorse Romney, finally, but also to jump right back into the “birther” concerns about the “strangeness” and “foreign-ness” of Barack Hussein Obama. Come on, Mitt. When you covet the approval of and travel with fools — before long people begin to assume you are a fool, also.

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A crazy woman at a campaign stop said there was something wrong with Obama — that he was a socialist — and that she agreed with an0ther in the audience that said President Obama should be impeached. Hey, guys! Being black and President is not an impeachable offense — yet. But Mitt did nothing — except blink his eyes six times – quickly — as he was trying to do the political calculus on his possible responses to the wing-nut. Ultimately, he took the courageous Romney route. He kept a blank face — and did and said nothing.

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In Colorado, a nutty politician said that he did not believe that Barack Obama was an American citizen (you can’t be black and be President and be an American — something has got to give — and since he is black and already is “the President – so-called” — that means that he cannot really be an American citizen — and therefore is illegitimate. It is interesting to note here for all the “birthers” that of the two Presidential candidates in 2008, one of them was definitely not born in the United States. That candidate was John McCain — who was born in Panama. Now it is only fair to note that he was born in Panama during a tour of duty there by his father, who was in the military at the time. Congress later passed a law to make it legal that if you are the child of military personnel serving abroad, and are born abroad (as in on the military base there), you are nevertheless, by law, an American citizen. The law, regrettably for McCain supporters, stated that the effective date of the law was to be the year “after” McCain was born — thus did not include him and did not grant him unquestioning and unquestionable American citizenship.

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But the final disgrace of all was Romney’s sycophantic fawning over Dick Cheney. I mean, if there is one thing that is virtually undisputed in political polite talk, it is that the policies and actions of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney while they were in office have been pretty thoroughly and universally discredited — as dishonest and, with regard to at least the Iraq war — unnecessary. Rachel Madd0w remarked on her show the other night that Dick Cheney’s approval rating was 9% — slightly lower than the approval rating of some sexually transmitted diseases. Romney called Cheney a great, good, and wise man — and a man who should have been President – in his own right. I don’t know too many people — including Republicans — that feel that touchy-feely about Cheney. The man is cold, calculating, heartless, greedy, secretive, self-serving and basically believes in a social Darwinist view of the world — once you got a sucker down, never let him up. Dick Cheney also invented the absurdly indefensible 1% doctrine — which stated that if there was a 1% chance of something happening — you must pre-emptively respond as if the event had already happened — only in advance. George Zimmerman used 1% doctrine when he saw Trayvon Martin walking back from the convenience store. Trayvon looked black — and therefore suspicious to Zimmerman — so he assumed that if there was a 1% chance Trayvon Martin may be up to no good — he would just have to pre-emptively shoot him to prevent that 1% chance of something from happening. And we saw the result of that thinking. It’s just that in Dick Cheney’s case, Trayvon Martin was the whole country of Iraq. And justifications for the two actions are actually quite similar. George Zimmerman was just using Dick Cheney 1% doctrine as a strategy for protecting himself and his community. Absurd!

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The people Romney is associating with are Republicans. It’s possible that Mitt is still processing through the fact that it appears he is the Republican nominee for President — but since the actual nominating convention has not happened yet — maybe he is sensitive to the fact that something or some combination of somethings could occur to yet deny him that nomination — and for that reason he is making no waves whatsoever. But the risk he runs is that he does not appear to be a leader. If you are a leader — and someone in the group you are meeting with proposes something you think is a bad idea — or are opposed to — a leader must state that fact clearly and unequivocally. If he doesn’t, it erodes his leadership — and his leadership mystic.

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Plus, if people in your political party say things in appearances with you that do not represent your position on things –– and you do not intervene to clarify – or state the viewpoint that you actually profess — then the viewing public and the media take your silence as acquiescence or acceptance and approval — and assume that the views professed represent your position — or you would have clarified that point and made sure the viewing public knows that they do not represent your positions.

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So while Mitt Romney is possibly just in the early stages of his “Etch-a-Sketch” transformation to general election candidate — in the early going he may be in danger of re-enforcing the belief that he has no real beliefs — with the exception of what is expedient — or that he has neither strong convictions and principles — nor the guts to state them clearly — and explain, defend, and champion them — if he does in fact have them. So far, Mitt. Not looking very Presidential. Looking a little bit subordinate and office clerkish — to be truthful. And certainly not like a leader. But then a leader is the person who is the biggest resource for the largest number of people – which also does not look like Romney.